Join the Conversation

Nugget 'golden rooster' auctioned Saturday

Aurora Sain
8:34 a.m. PDT July 26, 2014

The golden rooster from John Ascuaga’s Nugget is expected to bring in $200,000-$300,000 at the Coeur d’Alene Art Auction on Saturday.(Photo: Frank Polk and Shreve & Co., provided by Coeur d’ Alene Art Auction)

The "golden rooster" from John Ascuaga's Nugget will be auctioned off Saturday and is expected to bring in at least $200,000.

The Coeur d'Alene Art Auction will cater to 600 potential buyers with high-priced Western art, according to auction partner Mike Overby. The auction begins at noon Saturday at the Peppermill Resort Spa Casino in Reno.

Some of the other big-ticket items include at least three paintings expected to go for at least $1.5 million, Overby said.

The auction estimates the 18-karat, 206.3 troy-ounce (14.2-pound) gold bird, owned by the Ascuaga family, will be sold for between $200,000 and $300,000.

When the rooster, made by sculptor Frank Polk and Shreve & Co., was appraised in 2009, it was only worth $165,900. Today, if melted down, the bird would be worth $201,451, according to the Reno Gold Exchange on Friday.

The golden rooster made its first appearance in 1958, as part of the golden rooster room at John Ascuaga's Nugget. After attracting the attention of the U.S. Treasury Department, the bird went on trial in 1960 in violation of the Gold Reserve Act stating that one person cannot have more than 50 ounces of gold in his possession unless it is an object of art. The rooster won the trial, and went back on display until the Nugget was sold in 2013.